What your folding technique with clay?

F

Fluffer

New member
I'm just curious on how everyone here shapes their clay and then

refolds it to expose a new surface.



I clayed my car for the first time yesterday with Clay Magic and had excellent results. First, I cut the bar into three separate pieces. Then I molded the working piece into a flat, 2 inch rectangular shape. When the surface got dirty, I stretched it out a few inches and folded the dirty side inwards to expose clean clay. This folding technique worked for about 5 refolds before there wasn't any more clean surface to expose. I chucked it and moved on to a new piece. I ended up using the whole bar.



Does this sound like the correct folding technique? I was expecting to use the entire bar since my car was never clayed, but I felt I could have been more efficient in my folding technique to get more mileage out of the bar.



BTW, I lubed with water and car shampoo (15:1 ratio), hosed off the car after claying, then applied Meguiars #7 Show Glaze and Pro Yellow Wax. The entire process took about 5 hours. I was beat afterwards.











Is it possible I used too much lube.
 
Fluffer said:
When the surface got dirty, I stretched it out a few inches and folded the dirty side inwards to expose clean clay. This folding technique worked for about 5 refolds before there wasn't any more clean surface to expose. I chucked it and moved on to a new piece. I ended up using the whole bar.
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Good for you! Sounds like you did your homework! When I began claying (just last fall, after discovering Autopia), most instructions talked about "kneading." Recently, more have talked about "stretch and fold," which I am much happier with, because it minimizes the risk of abrading the finish.



You go! :up
 
Hubris63, I used all three pieces on a minivan (Odyssey).



I'm glad I cut it into thirds because I dropped the second piece halfway through. On the last piece I experimented and shaped it into a small cube. I actually found this shape was the easiest to grip between my thumb and index finger, plus I was able to rotate the cube six times before stretching. The downside to the cube shape is it covers less surface.
 
I find I never actively "stretch" it before I fold. Usually the light pressure I press down on it is enough to flatten the bar out under my fingers as I work and I just fold it over once to make a smaller rectangle again. I don't stretch it out or knead it because I don't like the idea of spreading the contaminants around the entire bar. I fold only because then you get an almost perfectly clean surface again, but you have to be careful about exposing the dirtier edges sometimes.
 
I sit ok to lube with a sprayer bottle with water and dawn diluted?

Would you expect to use up the whole bar if you've washed with Dawn before claying?
 
lodestone said:
I sit ok to lube with a sprayer bottle with water and dawn diluted?
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noNoNO! -- not Dawn. Use a high-quality carwash soap. You might also want to take a look at this thread on clay lubes

lodestone said:
Would you expect to use up the whole bar if you've washed with Dawn before claying?
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The need for (and benefits of) claying isn't really related to the car being clean. You can have a spotlessly "clean" car and still need claying in the worst way. (I know; been there, done that.) Clay removes embedded contaminants that no car wash can remove. So if you've never clayed, it's quite possible that you will use an entire bar the first time. If you'll repeat it after that (maybe every 4-6 months), there won't be as much build-up of contaminants, so you won't dirty-up as many sections of the clay bar.
 
lynn, thanks for the response. I will use the carshampoo & water. Just curious though why Dawn wouldn't work. We're stripping the wax anyway. Is it too tough on the claybar?

Also, how long do you expect a claybar to last?
 
I'm hoping more of the professional/scientific Autopians will chime in here.



My horrified "NONONO" :scared to Dawn stems from two factors.

1. A few Autopians have recently pointed out that Dawn is quite harsh, and really should only be used when you need that kind of strong (alkaline, I think :nixweiss ) detergent. For some folks, it's the tool of choice for certain applications (when you need to strip off wax, for example), but not the first arrow to pull out of your quiver most times. But other Autopians have said that it's so harsh they will never use it.

2. I doubt (and I'm really just making this up now) that it has the high lubricity that is so important when claying. Carwash soaps are designed to have lubricity; I'm guessing Dawn is not, since most folks don't want dishes slipping out of their hands. ;)



As to your second question: I expect a claybar to last as long as it lasts. :D I mean, there's no way to gauge it. As you start using it, you will see it getting black and you'll see little specks of bad doobies [that's a technical term] in it. Then you'll know that to continue using it would risk damage.



By the way, I'm hoping you've already done a search on this topic and that you know to cut the bar into 3 or 4 pieces before you start.
 
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